What's everyone up to right now?

[Astreja]

(Springy G staggers in, depositing a knapsack of clarinet gear on the couch)  Drove 100 kilometres out of town to play two sets in 30°C+ heat and Did Not Die.  Between the sunblock and the three litres of water I drank (plus several sodas on the side) and a water-soaked Tilley hat acting as an air conditioner for my head, surprised myself with how well I tolerated the heat.  (I have a propensity to get a sunstroke headache with very little provocation.)

Of course, the moment I got back within city limits I stopped at a coffee shop for a cup of dark roast and a piece of cake.  First coffee I had all day, which is definitely out of the ordinary.  It may be a bit hard to fall asleep tonight, but I regret nothing.

And I can sleep in tomorrow, too.  *happy dance*

[Rev. Rye]

Dad and I went to an antiques and guitar gear fair at the Lake County. Last year, I bought a Regal Tiple (that sounds pretty good even if it barely stays in tune, and when I say that, I mean that when I tune it, by the time I get to the last string, the first one is already  going audibly out of tune).

What did I get? Well, aside from an old Criterion DVD of Picnic at Hanging Rock, I found something intriguing that I wish I could have bought:



I am well aware of Malcolm Young's main guitar for AC/DC that he used to lay down the rhythm parts over Angus' solos on every single track they recorded until he had to leave the band (and now his nephew Stevie is playing a guitar that's almost identical):





I found myself intrigued by the idea of taking this Airline Barney Kessel body and installing new hardware on it, including a single bridge pickup like Malcolm's (maybe a Gold Foil), and maybe some other pimp-outs, but, alas, apparently, there's bigger problems that we probably can't fix. If there's a Malcolm Hot Rod out there for me, this one probably isn't it.


What I did get, however, was an old Tenor Banjo. We convinced the seller to sell it for half his asking price. It played horribly, with its high action and poor tuning and ancient strings, but I sensed it could be fixed.



Well, I fixed a big part of its intonation problems because I measured the bridge and found it was two inches higher than it needed to be. I tuned it up and it sounded better, even though the highest string broke before I managed to break.

Also, apparently, he said it was made by Guild, but Guild never made tenor banjos. I'm looking at the tailpiece, the only part with any branding, and it seems to read "Gliun." Or maybe "Eliun." Given that the measurement between the nut and 12th fret was 26 cm exactly, and that it has a name I am unfamiliar with, let alone know how to pronounce, I strongly suspect it was made in Europe.




Maybe we'll get more information when Dad takes it to Hogeye Music in Evanston on Monday.

Also, I got this little guy: (Khem, prepare for your mouth to water)



The head itself is six inches long, and the seller guesses it's 3 feet long. Admittedly, it looks "cute" in comparison to other heads I was able to find on the internet, but it was $10, and she was willing to break it down from $12 without even needing to haggle.

And now for a #hailtritanopia picture:



Admittedly, the alligator, despite being unchanged by evolution for over 8 million years, does not seem to be suited for the old two-strip Technicolor process.

[Angrboda]

Whoah. Barnes & Noble has both the Gia Fu Feng translation and the Stephen Mitchell translation of the Tao Te Ching in electronic form. Bonus. Screw a bunch of Amazon. Now all I need to do is find room in my budget for both....

[The Valkyrie]

Walking down to the railway station right now I found a rabbit cowering in the gutter at the side of the road.

He's now snugly warm in my backpack.

[Angrboda]

Walking down to the railway station right now I found a rabbit cowering in the gutter at the side of the road.

He's now snugly warm in my backpack.

Hasenpfeffer stew! Yummy!

[The Valkyrie]

Walking down to the railway station right now I found a rabbit cowering in the gutter at the side of the road.

He's now snugly warm in my backpack.

Hasenpfeffer stew! Yummy!

Well, he seems to be happily curled up in my gym clothes...

[brewer]

Back from the rib fest. 90F and high humidity is not conducive to pigging out.

[Ravenshire]

Hasenpfeffer stew!  Yummy!

Well, he seems to be happily curled up in my gym clothes...

Why wouldn't he be? I'd be happy if I could get into your gym shorts.  

[Little lunch]

Waiting for my work clothes to dry.
Hurry up, you lazy fucking sun.

[Seraphina]

Mulling over whether to move my trip to Rome from April to February. Plane tickets are way more expensive during easter season - fukking pope! Plus, February comes sooner.

-Teresa